Image via Wikipedia
If forested cityscapes are your thing, this is your kind of place. Bellevue’s compact downtown bristles with new skyscrapers that seem to hover above Lake Washington — and when the clouds part, mountain views loom.
Real estate isn’t a bargain, but the town’s jobless rate is more than two points below that of the Seattle metro area, thanks to a recent influx of jobs from such employers as Microsoft (which has moved 6,500 positions here), T-Mobile, Verizon, and Expedia. In fact, Bellevue has more jobs than it does residents.
And the population is diverse: Nearly a quarter of residents are Asian, and nearly a third are foreign born.
The town’s high schools consistently land at the top of state rankings. There’s also a ton of arts and entertainment, including a philharmonic orchestra, fine arts museum, botanical garden, youth theater, annual jazz festival, and 74 (!) parks.
Seattle Rattle Blog 